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Morning Skate, No. 39

Posted Jan 5, 2012
by Aaron Portzline
| 0 comments

It's been a while since the Blue Jackets have taken the ice, so long ago that the memories of the Jackets' latest third-period collapse -- a 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on New Year's Eve -- seem so last year.

"Obviously that was a pretty frustrating game for us on New Year's (Eve), one we thought we'd seen before," Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel said. "This week of practice, we really tried to focus on putting the tough stuff behind us and just focusing on this game."

The Jackets get back at it tonight, facing the San Jose Sharks at 10:30 p.m. in HP Pavilion. The Blue Jackets will be the fresher club, as the Sharks have played three games in the last four days, including a 3-1 win in Anaheim on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets also will be facing Sharks back-up goaltender Thomas Greiss, who hasn't played since Dec. 3, giving way to Antti Niemi for the last 13 games.

The message for the Blue Jackets tonight, then, is to come roaring out of the gates, to jump on the heavy-legged Sharks and rusty back-up. Further, the message should be to finish scoring chances: the Jackets have outshot opponents 410-323 in the first period this season, yet have been outscored 36-29.

"We've got our hands full," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "They've seemed to come out of the gate fast lately. They've played with a lot of energy and passion lately. With us being on the road, playing back-to-back games and having some travel, we'll have to make sure we're ready when the puck is dropped and not wade into games."

Side dishes:

-- Caught up with Andrew "Weighty" Murray today. Looks odd in teal, but says he's gotten used to it. Funny, but he's got Jody Shelley's old stall in the Sharks dressing room. No word if Weighty will dress tonight vs. his old club. McLellan is looking for fresh legs tonight, and Tommy Wingels has been recalled from the AHL. But here's McLellan on Murray: "He's a true professional, a quiet guy who shows up at the rink every day ready to work. He's a tremendous skater. He has a lot of get up and go in his stride. He can get on loose pucks, and he's got a pretty good stick that creates a lot of turnovers. We call them worker-bees. He's a worker-bee who does what he has to to be in there. He's been a good player for our organization."

-- Murray said the writing was on the wall at the end of last season that he wouldn't be back in Columbus. Arniel was surprisingly candid today about how much he liked Murray as a player last season, how much they missed him when he went down with an injury, and how they've missed him this season. More on that in Friday's editions of The Columbus Dispatch.

-- Goaltender Curtis Sanford will start for the Blue Jackets, his first game since Dec. 22.

-- Blue Jackets prospect C Boone Jenner missed Team Canada's bronze medal game today after being suspended by the IIHF for spearing Russia's Yvgeny Kuznetsov in the semifinal round.

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